Yours truly

This is our Blog on Personal Finance. We will attempt to be analytical as well as educative. We will tell you what we like and what we don't. We will tell you what we do with our money and what we tell you is what we will follow for us. Tell us what you like to see.

Executive Summary – Money is an interesting and vast topic. There are many ways to learn about it. There are websites such as Investopedia and moneycontrol.com and books such as Your Money or Your Life' and 'The Intelligent Investor' that can be used to educate oneself about money. Children also need to learn about financial concepts. There are books, websites and games targeted at them which aim at making them money wise.

Money is a fascinating subject for everyone. Most of us want money and want our money to grow. But one needs to learn about money so that one can understand how it works and make one's money grow.It is a vast topic and we have tried to give you some guidelines on how to know more about money

Introduction To Money and Investment : If one is new to investing and money related concepts, he can start looking at websites such as Investopedia and The Motley Fool. There is a big collection of tutorials in these websites. They are simple and easy to understand. The sites are user friendly too. You can read books like 'Your Money or Your Life' which focuses on personal finance and shows how to gear up towards financial independence'.I Can Do: Financial Planning' by Swapna Mirashi which is more from an Indian context and is part of RBI's 'Project Financial Literacy'. It covers general investment concepts.One of the best books is, 'The Intelligent Investor' by Benjamin Graham. It focuses on value investing and how to make long-term investment strategies. This is a book to be read more than once provided you understand about money and investments to make the best use of it.There are many personal finance blogs like www.gettingyou.rich.com/blog, www.jagoinvestor.com, www.tflguide.com that talk about information on personal finance , news and trends in personal finance and analysis of investment products with respect to an Indian context.There are finance portals too where you get comprehensive information on finance, investment and latest economic news. The popular ones in India are -1) www.moneycontrol.com – It is good for beginners and experts and is quite comprehensive with interesting features like knowledge articles, investment tools, good selection of charts and comparison views etc. It is updated as per market conditions and customer demands.

2) www.indiainfoline.com – It gives the updated news and views on the Indian economy with ​knowledge articles on personal finance.

Advanced Learning :Once you are comfortable with money and investment concepts, it is time to put your knowledge into action. You can read the economic papers like Economic Times or Mint where you understand current economic situation of India and the world. This will add to your knowledge and guide you in making your investment decisions and other decisions such as what career should you embark upon or should you buy or rent a house. You can also visit sites such as http://www.tradingpicks.com/beginners_guide.htm or learn the ways of a stock market, trading and investing by having a virtual portfolio and managing it on sites such as NSE Paathshala and www.moneycontrol.com. You can then graduate to having a real portfolio of stocks.Monica Halan has written a book - 'A Family’s Guide To Seven Steps To Financial Freedom' It highlights the financial planning process. It even has sheets and formulae to allow one to calculate how much money one needs for his/her goals and gives ideas on investment products. It is helpful because it is from and Indian perspective and if you know the concepts, the book can serve as a guide in quantifying your investment goals.You can check calculators on moneycontrol.com or Personalfn for financial numbers.

Money education

Teach Money to Kids and Teenager:Children and Teenagers also need to be taught about money and the sooner they begin to learn, the better foundation they will have. RBI has started the project - 'Project Financial Literacy' that has information about money concepts for children. The information is disseminated in the form of comics on the website. There are books like Amar Pandit’s 'Bill and Penny’s Money Adventures' which talks about savings, investing, taxation etc. The Lemonade War”, a book written by Jacqueline Davies gives a few ideas on business. Bunny Money (Max and Ruby) by Rosemary Wells is a story on how a pair of siblings want to buy a gift for their grandmother and the events that make their plan difficult. It also introduces addition and subtraction.

It is important that we are financially literate. It will help us reaching our goals and protect ourselves from unwanted events from a financial perspective. Children need to be taught financial concepts as per their age so that when they are adults, they are financially smart and can manage their finances well.

There are games like Monopoly and Game of Life for slightly older children where they learn to buy and sell and spend and save money and take decisions.There are many websites and apps available that focus on money literacy. Visa has a financial literacy website - http://www.practicalmoneyskills.com/games that has games that tests your financial skills. Some of the games are suitable for the younger audience too. There are apps such as Motion Math and Renegade Buggies that teach one to take prudent financial decisions.Older children and teenagers can be involved in money related discussions like recent purchases, how does the family earn money. Teenagers can be involved in banking transactions, EMI payments, Credit Card bill payments etc.It is important that we are financially literate. It will help us reaching our goals and protect ourselves from unwanted events from a financial perspective. Children need to be taught financial concepts as per their age so that when they are adults, they are financially smart and can manage their finances well.

Executive Summary – Quitting your job is an important decision. It affects your life from different aspects. Some of the financial moves that you have to do to cushion the impact are to think about the future from all angles, discuss finances with a professional financial advisor, build an emergency fund and assess insurance. You should also review your current health status, pay all dues, maintain cordial relations with colleagues and superiors at work and think about and plan your life post quitting the job.

You have finally decided to quit your job. It is not an easy decision. There could be many pros and cons to consider. You have to make sure that you make the following financial moves before giving your resignation letter -

1) Think about the future –You have to think about your future before you quit your job. Being single and quitting your job has its own challenges and having dependents while quitting is a different ball game. You might need to build some cash reserves before you quit your job. How will you manage finances for yourself and your near and dear ones? If you are getting a severance package, you need to implement it properly for making it an income source. If you do not have any other source of income in hand, you have to decide if you plan to go for another job or start your own venture. If you want another job, you might have to activate your network and update your professional social media profile. If you are starting on your own, you have to plan your resources and time accordingly. You will have to be mentally prepared if you will become financially dependent on another person.

2) Discuss with a professional financial advisor –You should assess your financial situation before you quit your job. You should take advice from a financial advisor if you are not very confident about your money management skills to plan the best course of action during this life changing event. You should be aware of investments, income streams, debt etc. You should have a plan of action to fund your retirement goals.

3) Assess and if necessary build an emergency fund – Are you quitting your job without any regular source of income? If yes, then you should be aware that even if income stream stops, expenses will continue to be there. You should start building an emergency fund from 3 months-6 months depending on your family situation and financial status so that you will not land in any financial trouble.

Think, plan & quit job

4) Assess your insurance –​Insurance is a very important component of your financial plan. Before you leave your job, check the effects on your insurance (health, medical etc.). Check if you have enough insurance to cover emergencies. If not, you should buy insurance policy that covers you and your family. You should also plan insurance as per existing health problems and future health problems.

Quitting your job has a personal impact and a financial impact. It is important to think through it properly so that long term financial well being of you and your loved ones is not compromised upon. ​

5) Some other steps to take -

You should pay all bills that are pending. You should pay off credit card dues. If possible, pay some advance amount for utilities and rent/maintenance charges so that you are in a better position.

You should visit your doctor, dentist and any other specialist as required before you quit your job to make sure you are healthy.

You should have a fair idea of what you want to do after you quit your job. You might want to pursue higher education or be a stay-at-home parent or start a venture etc. It is important to know what you will be doing after you quit else things can go awry.

You should finish all your professional tasks and try to leave your company on good terms with superiors, colleagues and the HR department. You should check your employment contract to check the terms and conditions of leaving the job so that you have a smooth exit.

Think about the reasons for quitting the job and make sure it is not a hasty decision made because you are angry or bored. Evaluate if a sabbatical will serve the purpose and is possible in your company. It is an extreme step and should be taken rationally.

Quitting your job makes has a personal impact and a financial impact. It is important to think through it properly so that long term financial well being of you and your loved ones is not compromised upon. ​​

Executive Summary – Failure is the stepping stone to success. We can learn many financial lessons from failed startups such as ascertain the loss that you can bear, cash is king, manage spending, understand the financials and fundraising takes time and effort.

Henry Ford had experienced failure in some automobile businesses leading to loss of reputation. But he tried again and founded the Ford Motor Company revolutionizing the automotive industry. Amitabh Bachchan is one of the greatest actors of India and has sustained for so many years. But he too had his share of failures. He was rejected by AIR because his voice was not right! 12 films of his flopped before he gave a hit. After tasting success, he again failed when his company, ABCL did not do well. He became almost bankrupt. But he rose above these failures with his perseverance. He starred in the show 'Kaun Banega Crorepati' which was a big hit and he was back in business. Failure is a stepping stone to success.

If you take your failures in a positive light, you can learn a lot of lessons from them. Most entrepreneurs do not get it right the first time. They do encounter failures on their way to create a successful enterprise.​Here are 5 financial lessons from failed entrepreneurship ventures -1) Be certain on how much loss you can take –​When you start a business or your own venture, you cannot accurately estimate your profits. But it is important to assess the loss that you can bear. Entrepreneurs who do not keep a track of their loss will end up shutting down the venture as it becomes very unviable and even get into massive debt. You should have an idea as to how much can you lose before shutting the business completely. This should be decided in quantitative terms like 1 year's salary or my savings account cannot go below a certain amount. This will help to keep a check on the downside.

Failure is the stepping stone to success.

2) Cash is King – Your startup may be valued very highly. It might get a lot of publicity but you need cash to run the business, to pay the bills and execute next steps. Many ventures have failed as the owners fail to see that it is important to have funding and be aware of sources from where you can get liquid cash. Your investors might lose interest in your venture if they see some other lucrative business ideas and invest their money there and this will get your venture in trouble.3) Manage Spending –​It is very easy to get excited and start spending on various things to see product success. But you should remember that you have a finite amount of cash and manage expenditure appropriately. Some start-ups burn money unnecessarily on hiring too many employees, marketing spends etc. when the money can utilized in a more prudent manner.

Failure is a stepping stone to success. If you take your failures in a positive light, you can learn a lot of lessons from them. Most entrepreneurs do not get it right the first time. They do encounter failures on their way to create a successful enterprise.

4) Understand the financials –Having a great idea is not enough. It is not cool to say 'I cannot understand taxes.' or be overconfident of the value that the customer might see in the product. You should assess the cash outflow and inflow realistically. Many entrepreneurs do not understand basic financial statements such as the Profit and Loss Statement, Cash Flow statement, Balance Sheet etc. This will not help them to get a clear picture of where the business is heading from a financial standpoint. They might end up taking decisions without proper knowledge which can be dangerous.5) Fundraising takes time and effort – ​We all hear stories of some startup getting a lot of funding or a big loan. But it is not always the case for everyone. The startup that did get a lot of funding must have tried numerous times for the funds or worked really hard on getting it. This is not reported on the front pages of the newspaper. Fundraising takes time and effort. Sometimes startups go bust for lack of funds or the entrepreneurs decide to close down as no funds seem to be coming their way. It is important to understand how much funds you need, how much you can get from your sources, family and well-wishers and how much you need to raise or borrow. Accordingly you should start taking steps towards getting funds raised or borrow from a financial institution.Hope these financial lessons help you when you decide to start your own venture.